Grand Traverse County is a beautiful part of a beautiful region, in a diverse and wonderful state.
Its no wonder so many wish to move and settle here. Its also comes as no surprise that initiatives which claim to protect of the beauty and natural habitat are also embraced by so many in our region. Who wouldn’t want to protect what is good and right? As Republicans, we mostly consider ourselves conservative, and thoughtful of our actions and the results they bring. We don’t like to waste, and as anyone of any political persuasion, we would prefer to be surrounded by nice things, and nice environments. So we act out to that end.
Some consider the Grand Vision to be a way in which to protect the quality of life we enjoy. The “visioning” process and subsequent planning submitted to local authorities through voices of the visioners appears on its face to be harmless at the worst, and beneficial to goals of pleasant surroundings. Why wouldn’t we want nice communities?
However, underneath the decidedly positive terms which are used in the visioning process like “Smart Growth”, and “Sustainability”, are the agendas of those who are not from our culture. They are certainly not conservative or even remotely Republican in nature.
In 1992 The United Nations created what is known as Local Agenda 21. It is fully downloadable in no less than 40 chapters from the UN.ORG site. The core of the agenda 21 plan however is the RIO declaration of principles (google: “Rio Declaration”) voted on by the nations of the world. The fundamental premise of the document is that to achieve “sustainability,” wealth and resources must be equalized. That wealthy nations are made wealthy at the expense of the poor. One of the Principles:
“All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world.“
We must eradicate poverty. Decrease the disparities. “From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need”
That last quote belongs to Karl Marx.
The visioning facilitators are tasked with this other fundamental included in the RIO declaration:
To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.
Sustainability as they see and explain in other parts, is not allowing growth if it means others cannot enjoy the benefit of that growth. To solely consume that which you have created without distribution to others violates the precepts of the Rio Declaration, a FOREIGN creation. Foreign, yet so easily advocated by the new “voice” of the Grand Vision scheduled to take the reigns in January, Kimberly Pontius. Pontius in 2009 writes:
“Beyond the negative impacts on natural systems and resource exploitation, our contemporary American lifestyle generates impacts on human ecosystems promoting hunger and disease brought about by poverty. This lifestyle also creates political discord with the rest of the world, especially those living in undeveloped and under?developed nations who are competing for goods and services to meet survival requirements.”
Its OUR fault the poor in the world are poor according to the new facilitator of the “Grand Vision”. His selection is a logical one. The text which that quote came from also notes his acceptance of the agenda 21 package as a whole. The same package that dismisses private property, and advises that wealth only arrives as a cost to the disaffected poor. The same package that encourages forced sharing of resources and technologies with other nations. The package that is being sold to local governments as “sustainability” and “smart.”
As these things become known, and the agenda of socialist policy 21 creeps into our planning, the rose colored glasses are being set down for a new look at what it is that is destroying our way of life and culture.
